Friday, April 29, 2011

Not about to miss out on one of the most talked about and high profile weddings of the year, International Women's Association of Penang (IWA) will hold a charity street party at the Straits Quay on 29th April to celebrate the Royal Wedding of Price William and Catherine Middleton. Prince William is second in line to the British throne after Prince Charles, and the couple have been been together, on and off, since 2001.

The wedding which will be held in Westminster Abbey will be screened live on six giant plasma screens via the internet according to Frances Wilks, one of the organizers involved in the event.

Invitations to the wedding service are issued in the name of Her Majesty The Queen and includes 1,900 guests. Out of which, 650 guests have been invited to the lunchtime reception at Buckingham Palace given by the Queen and approximately 300 guests invited to dinner, also at Buckingham Palace, by the Prince of Wales.

The Herald Sun reported that a signal-blocking technology will be installed at the Westminster Abbey to effectively ban Twitter, calls and untimely ringtones. The technology will be turned on early Friday morning British time, and will remain for the whole duration of the ceremony. The move was suggested by the royal family and approved by the security.

The Royal Wedding Street Party at the Straits Quay will cost RM65 for adults and RM40 for children below 13 years old. Those below 5 years old get to go free of charge.

Tickets are available from committee members, IWA office and the Kaffa Kafe in Straits Quay. Ticket prices are inclusive of either two beers or two glasses of wine, together with fish and chips, bangers and mash, coronation chicken with apple crumble and bread and butter pudding. Water and squashes are free flow.

The Pearly King and a "Royal Couple" will make a special appearance.

Prizes are sponsored by Amee Phillips, OE Design, Danai Spa and the G-Hotel too among many others for quizzes on Cockney Rhyming Slang and the Mysterious Images game.

Children will have a chance to be crowned best dressed prince and princess for the evening besides looking forward to drawing and painting competitions.

This event aim to raise funds for 4Paws, a sanctuary founded by Barbara to house abandoned street dogs. Currently she takes care of over 80 dogs and this fund will provide for the dogs' expenses such as food and medical bills.

The IWA is an organization set up to initially support women who accompany their expatriate husbands, but now includes single mothers, women who own businesses here and also women who are on the Malaysia, My Second Home programme. IWA currently has a membership of about 320 members in Penang and is committed to doing charitable work.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Magistrate court judge Tengku Sharizan bin Tuan Lah ruled in favour of Bayswater Resort Condominium in an application filed by Lisa Nadia Tan Thuan Li to set aside a warrant of seizure and sale due to a default in maintenance payment amounting to slightly more than RM14,000.

“The court does not want to interfere with the management’s decision,” he declared this morning, claiming that the applicant was indebted to the management.

However another application to release all items belonging to her father, Tan Cheng Lim was approved.

“I will try to apply from the magistrate that no enforcement takes place until the disposal of the appeal,” said lawyer S. Raveentharan who is also the state assemblyman for Batu Uban.

Suraya, from Amareson & Meera, the lawyer representing Bayswater however declined S.Raveentharan’s proposal to meet at the magistrate’s chambers. She requested S.Raveentharan to put in a formal application instead.

Lisa Nadia (right) is a single parent who lives with her father and two children.

She had tried to pay the Bayswater Joint Management Body since last year after receiving the warrant of seizure and sale of the condominium. The management accepted two out of the 17 post-dated cheques. The rest were declined on grounds that a legal case was pending.

“If they had accepted the cheques, about half the payment would have been cleared by now,” explained the elder Tan.

Earlier this year, ten police personnels went to Lisa’s apartment unit to take inventory of her household items. The issue regarding the alarming number of policemen entering her house remains unclear although police authorities have denied it in writing.

S. Raveentharan submitted the proof with photographs of ten policemen in the house taken on the same day but it was nevertheless not taken into consideration for the judgment.

In a final discussion with the law firm representing Bayswater, S.Raveentharan managed to secure an agreement for Lisa to clear her debt in three separate payments.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Media Statement by Chow Kon Yeow, Penang State Executive Councillor for Local Government and Traffic Management at the conclusion of the Local Government Consultative Forum on Monday, 11 April 2011 at the Kompleks Masyarakat Penyayang, Penang.

1. Swiftlet farm operators and MCA leaders have raised three issues at a demonstration staged at Komtar walk, on Friday 8 April 2011.

2. Issue No.1 –Accused the Penang State Government for trying to kill off this lucrative industry by removing swiftlet premises from the World Heritage Site of Geoege Town!

3. Issue No.2 –“Heritage” in whatever forms are still “dead things”, only people have lives!

4. Issue No.3 –Mulu National Park and George Town are both heritage sites, why swiftlet activity are allowed in Mulu and not George Town!

5. The Penang State Government is not trying to kill off swiftlet farming. We want swiftlet farm investors to continue this lucrative business at appropriate zones approved for such activities.

6. Swiftlet farm investors would see their investments secured and sustainable over a long term if it is carried out at approved zones.

7. Swiftlet farm investors should not risk their investment by putting up swiftlet farms in unapproved zones as they would have to face enforcement action for failing to get the required planning and building approval from the local councils.

8. Swiftlet farm investors should revise their investment strategy in line with the Federal Government’s decision to stop swiftlet farming in the World Heritage Sites of Melaka and George Town and also the adoption of the National Guideline for Swiftlet Farming.

9. By lobbying intensively against the decision to stop swiftlet farming in George Town World Heritage Site, swiftlet farm investors are expecting the wider interests of the State and people to be sacrificed so that their narrow interests can be protected.

10. By asserting that “heritage in whatever forms are still lifeless dead things”, exposed their lack of understanding and appreciation of George Town World Heritage Site.

11. They are just equating heritage with artefacts, monuments or even antique pieces meant for decoration purposes at home.

12. George Town World Heritage Site is not about lifeless artefacts, monuments or antique pieces. George Town was inscribed as World Heritage Site because of the outstanding universal values of a living heritage. “Melaka and George Town are living testimony to the multi-cultural heritage and tradition of Asia, where the greatest religions, and cultures met. The coexistence of distinct faiths - both tangible and intangible - in particular the different religious buildings, is a testament to the religious pluralism of Asia.”

13. Swiftlet farm investors should realize that if George Town is taken over by birdhouse, this city would be turned not only into a bird city but a ghost city, which threaten not only the World Heritage Site status but also George Town as the capital city of the State of Penang. In short the future of George Town is at stake!

14. Who would allowed the future of George Town to be compromised?

15. The other assertion is made because of sheer ignorance. Mulu National Park is a natural heritage while George Town is a living heritage. Swiftlet belongs to the natural realm. Just because swiftlet activities are found in Mulu National Park, a natural heritage site, does not mean it should be allowed in the living heritage site of George Town.